Sep 12 2008
Taking a ride on the straight talk express
New poll numbers from Friday give John McCain a slight lead over Barack Obama. Now polls don’t mean anything really, but up until now Obama has enjoyed at least a slim lead in almost every poll that has been conducted. Could this be the turning point in the election? Some other useless numbers to toss around, given to us by the Associated Press/GfK Poll of Likely Voters:
McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin has proven effective as McCain now enjoys the support of 94% of republican party loyalists. Obama, in contrast, has the support of only 84% of the democratic party loyalists.
McCain has a 13-percentage-point lead over Obama with both men and senior citizens. He also has a 23-point advantage amongst rural voters.
Obama is favored almost two-to-one among those who believe the economy is the number one issue of concern.
Obama has an eighteen-point advantage amongst voters who look at a candidate’s values and views over experience.
80% of Americans feel that McCain is “ready to lead” compared to just 46% who feel Obama has enough experience.
47% say Obama lacks the experience needed, a number even worse than Palin. Only 36% feel that way about the Alaskan governor.
Obama does lead favorably amongst voters under the age of 30, 61-to-35 percent.
Like I said earlier, poll numbers mean nothing. This specific poll was amongst 1,217 adults, and only 812 of them were considered likely voters. There’s going to be a lot more people than that casting their ballot in November. It does show a disturbing trend for the Obama campaign though.
In other news, Obama met on Thursday with former president Bill Clinton. Before Obama appeared to be keeping Clinton at arms length. I think Obama would be wise to take Clinton’s advice to heart, as he is the last democrat to successfully run for office twice since FDR.
Sarah Palin had more than an earful to say about Obama not choosing Hillary Clinton as his running mate to ABC on Friday. “I think he’s regretting not picking her now,” said Palin. She also praised Clinton’s “determination, and grit and even grace” during the primaries. This was in stark contrast to her claim that Clinton was “whining” during the actual primaries.
Polls also show a 19 electoral vote lead for Obama. If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that the electoral college is what counts. While reports of voter caging are popping up like zits on Bristol Palin’s underage back, there is still the reality that, much to the chagrin of the right, we’ll have an Obama presidency. At least it’ll give Fox News something to harp about.
therelevantrhino.today.com
As if Fox News needs anything more to harp about….
I have been looking at the electoral maps lately. Obama does have the edge in many of the swing states. He has a strong lead in Minnesota and Iowa. He has the edge in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania too. Recent Ohio polls conflict as to who has the lead. These numbers favor Obama. Early organizing helps.
Perhaps the most telling poll was the Ohio Poll, released by the University of Cincinnati on Friday. It found that 23 percent of “likely voters” haven’t settled on a final choice yet. That means a fourth of the state — one of the key battlegrounds in the fall election — haven’t made up their minds. The candidate who reaches the majority of that 23 percent over the next 53 days will likely win Ohio and win the election.